Now or Never
by GilmoresDanes
Summary: Short story -probably 5 chapters at most Instead of going to Christopher, Babette approaches an upset Lorelai and supports her through her relationship troubles
1. Talk

**I absolutely love Babettes character in GG. So here she is helping Lorelai fix all things that went wrong in S6 E22 - Partings (Only nothing happened with Chris)**

**Chapter One - Talk**

...

I didn't know what to do with myself after I walked away from Luke's, I really didn't want to go home to face anything. I wanted to run away and never return, my whole body aches. I feel lost and alone all-over again. I thought that Luke would fight for us, I thought that he was _all in _but I guess I was wrong.

I pull up infront of the house, with no intentions of actually going inside. I know that Paul Anka is in thier, but I can't face it. We had all the construction work done, so that Luke and I could live their together but he never actually moved in.

I feel like I have been sat here forever, before I hear a knock on the window. Babette. She must've seen me pull up and just sit here.

I roll my window down to see what she wants.

'You okay sugah? You've been sat out here for awhile now.' She asks me, I really want to say no but I can't handle town gossip right now.

'Yeah, I guess I just started daydreaming, It happens a lot latley' I say, but I can tell she's not buying it

'Are you sure? You haven't been seen much around here lately, You've been working really hard, you look drained.' She tells me, 'I'm getting in and we are having a chart' She adds, sternly. She almost sounded like my mother for a second. As soon as Babette gets in the passenger side, she begins talking. I guess someone told her about the fight, even though it was about half an hour ago.

'You can talk to me,you do know that?' Babette says, as she faces me

'I know that, but there isn;t anything to talk about.' I lie, but Babette doesn't buy it.

'Sugah, we have veen neighbours for 10 years now, I know you. You've not been yourself for a while. We haven't seen you as bubbly or happy for a good couple of months.' She tells me, I forgot how Babette could always tell when something was wrong

'It's just the Inn. We have been really busy lately.' I lie again, but I'n not sure how long I can keep the lying up. I can feel the tears forming in my eyes.

'Oh Sugah, it's a lot more than the Inn. I know that. It's about Luke isn't it?' Babette says, softly. I don't speak, I just nod gently letting the tears fall.

'What happened?' Babette says, her tone soft and quiet.'Is it about the wedding? April? Rory?' She questions.

'All of the above I guess.' I say quietly, my eyes falling upon the house once more.

'You wanna talk about it?' Babette asks, softly once again. She has always veen like a mother to me. She is always looking out for me.

'I don't know. I don;t know what to do anymore. I feel like I have lost him. For months I have done nothing but support him, in getting to know April. But I wanted to be apart of that. We were supposed to be getting married, and that meant that April would be my step-daughter. What kind of step-mother doesn't get to know their step-daughter before the wedding? I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to upset Luke but tonight I just snapped. I tried so hard to fight for the relationship but he let me walk away. He doesn't want me anymore' I sob, reliving every horrible feeling I felt tonight during the ultimatum. 'I walked into the diner, I gave him an ultimatum and he let me walk away. What does that say about our relationship? I stood by him, even after he lied to me for 2 months about having a daughter. But all I got in return was him postponing the wedding and slowly but surely pushing me away.' I add, as Babette pulls me in for a side hug

'What did you tell Luke exactly?' Babette questions

'I told him I was ready to get married. That it was now or never. But he kept saying he had to consider April, he didn't understand that I was saying it was how she fits into out lives, not how we fit into hers. Or more specifically how I fit into hers. All these emotions have been building up over these last few months, after everything that happened with Rory too. I haven;t ever considered anything I have wanted for myself. I never really put myself first, because I'm scared of how it would affect others around me. But tonight, I snapped. I'm sick of feeling this way, I don't know what to do anymore.' I reply. Babette doesn't respond. Instead she gets out of the car, and walks me into her house.

'Lets have some coffee here. We can talk better here than in the car. I am going to listen to every word you have to say, Morey is away in Las Vegas so we don't have to worry about him coming in. I promise that I will not tell a soul. This will be private.' Babette tells me

'Thanks Babette, for everything. It means a lot' I tell her, she smiles as she places a coffee cup infront of me.

'So after the ultimatum, he just watched you walk away?' She asks, starting the conversation again

'Not only that, but he didn't even fight for me. He didn't want to consider the idea of getting married any time soon. I told him I talked to Anna after Aprils party, but he told me I wasn't supposed to do that. He has completely shut me out of his life, I can't talk to Anna or April. I feel like I'm not apart of his life anymore' I reply, starting to cry again

'What else did he say?' She questions, softly

'He told me that he had to think everything through,. That he needed to think about it. But all he has done for months is think. Before the birthday party I hadn't got to know April at all, apart from when I met her for 5 seconds in the diner, but Rory and most of the town had gotten to meet her. I don;t understand why I can't meet her but everyone else can, you know? Like if we actually got married, I would be her step-mother. I just don't feel like I belong in his life anymore. I actually believe this is it for us.' I say, letting the tears fall freely 'I told Luke how I felt tonight, and he didn't react to it. He just said he had to think everything through. I feel like a basket case for even giving him the ultimatum.' I add

'Think of it this way. If you hadn't have given him the ultimatum, how would you be feeling right now? You'd probably be feeling much worse than you do about giving him the ultimatum. Like you never usually put yourself first, but tonight you did and that is a good thing. It shows that you want to be in the relationship, that you are fighting for it.' She says. Everything she is saying is right.

'But he isn't, so what do I do?' I ask, quietly.

'You continue to fight. You show him that this relationship is what you want. If he doesn't see that, then he is a complete idiot.' She tells me, causing me to laugh a little

'I always thought that he was the one. Even before we got together, he was always there for Rory and I, but why is now different? We did all the work on the house and he never moved in, if he doesn't want me then why should I fight for him. I don't want to be in a relationship where he isn't all in.' I say

'Because I know that he wants to be in this relationship. He spent years flirting with you, wanting to be with you. I don't think he would throw that all away, he would be fool too.' She tells me, it reminds me of the horoscope.

'But what do I do now?' I ask

'You sleep, you might not want to but you need to. We can talk about what's next in the morning, now you can stay in the guest room here tonight, clear your head.' Babette says softly

'Thank you Babette.' I say

'You are welcome, now go sleep. We will talk more in the morning.

...

The next morning seemed to come around quickly. I didn't manage much sleep, but what sleep I did manage helped me to clear my head a little more.

'Morning Babette' I say, as I sit down in the kitchen

'Morning sugah. Sleep okay?' She asks, placing coffee in front of me

'I managed to sleep a little bit, not sure how long I actually slept for though.' I say

'Have you thought about what you are going to do today?' She asks softly

'Not really, but I need to go to the Inn and sort some things out there.' I say, not wanting to think about last night

'What about with talking to Luke?' She questions

'I don't really want to think about it.' I say, sadly

'Okay. I think that you should talk to him soon, about all of this. But in the meantime, don't hesitate to come talk to me. I stand by what I said last night, when I told you all of this will be between us. I might be the towns biggest gossiper but when it comes down to stuff like this my mouth will be zipped.' She says, as she pretends that she is actually zipping her mouth up. I laugh a little.

'Thanks Babette. I'm gonna go home now, freshen up a bit' I say, as I put the mug down.

'Okay sugah.' She says, as she walks me out.

...

After having a showers, and getting dressed I feel a little better. I grab my keys, cell and bag before heading out to the car. Hoping today would be over quickly.

I sigh loudly, as I see Luke's truck parked up behind my Jeep. I pray that I'm seeing things, but it all becomes real when Luke approaches me.

'Lorelai we need to talk' Luke tells me, but I just brush past him and put my bag in the car

'What about Luke? I tried to talk to you last night but it was like talking to a brick wall' I say, as I got to get in the Jeep. But Luke shuts the door before I have chance to get in

'What the hell?' I yell, getting frustrated

'We need to talk about last night.' He tells me, even though he is right I'm not ready to talk.

'No Luke, I'm done . I came into that diner last night I told you how I felt, but you didn't fight for us you just let me walk away. So now I am going to walk away. I am going to walk away from the pain that has been building up inside me for months, because I cannot stand and get hurt again.' I tell him, trying not to cry

'Please Lorelai, hear me out' He says, I feel the tears threatening to Luke

'I can't Luke. I need time to digest what happened last night. I need to think about whether I can be in this relationship.' I say, letting the tears fall.

'Lorelai-' Luke starts, but I cut him off

'Did you not hear me? I need time. If you get time to think then I should to. Let me have some space to think' I yell, getting frustrated

Looking hurt, he steps away from the Jeep and I get inside.

'Please move your truck, its in my way' I say bluntly, as I wait to be able to get to the Inn

...

As I return home from the Inn, I pray that I don't bump into Babette. I don't think that I can handle talking about this anymore. I just want to curl up into a ball, and never move again.

I get inside the house, and reluctantly listen to the messages on the machine.

_Mom it's me. I know your probably at the Inn and I should've called your cell but I'm worried about you. Luke called yesterday looking for you because Patty was at the house. Please call or text and tell me your okay. _I hear Rory's voice. I sigh as the next message plays

_Lorelai it's me. I know you don't want to talk, but I think we should. I don't want to fight with you anymore, I want to talk about everything. Please call me back. _I hear Luke's voice say

I sigh and turn the machine off.

I just hope that we can fix this...

Fix this so that if it is over, we can still be friends. But if it's not over, we can be the couple we used to be.

...

**Will Babette be able to help Lorelai talk to Luke?**

**Will she go and a talk to Luke on Lorelai's behalf?**


	2. Babettes Advice

**This chapter will involved a little section of Babettes POV**

**Chapter 2 - Babettes Advice**

I sigh to myself, as I decide what to do next. I have mixed feelings about last night. Was it the right thing? Was it not? Are we together? Are we not?

I hope that we can work things out, but if we do will anything change?

I grab my handbag, and keys, and head out for a walk to clear my head.

I avoid going near the diner, so I sit down for a break in the gazebo. I can't help but look into the diner, seeing Luke looking upset it hurts me that he feels this way but he needs to understand this is how I felt for months.

As I am looking into the diner, I don't see Babette sit next to me.

'What are you thinking about sugah?' She asks me, gently

'What to do next. I still don't know what to do next.' I tell her, sighing as I do

'So you came here, to stare at the diner?' She questions, laughing slightly

'I came for a walk and ended up sitting here. I want to go in there so badly. I want to go talk to him, but what do I say? He came to my house this morning wanting to talk, but I told him I'm done. Does that mean we are actually over now or not?' I ask sadly

'Well sugah, the fact that you are sitting here looking into the diner screams that you don't want this to be over.' Babette says, she's right.

'So now you have 2 options, you come into the diner with me and talk to him or you don't and I go alone' She adds

'I think I'll just go home' I say, as I stand up and walk back home

,..

**Babette's POV**

If Lorelai won't talk to Luke I will. It's obvious to me that they both want to talk to each other, but they are both too damn stubborn to do anything about it.

As I walk into the diner, I sit at the counter so that I can directly speak to Luke

'Hey Babette, what can I get ya?' Luke asks me, in his usual gruffy tone. Nothing seems too different with him, which is odd.

'A chat with you. I have something I want to talk to you about. In private' I tell him

'A chat? What about?' He asks me

'About your fiancé, who is going out of her mind. She is upset and angry right now and I want to talk to you about it.' I say

'About me and Lorelai? Babette there is nothing to discuss we are fine.' He lies to me.

'Luke I was with Lorelai all night last night. She slept in my guest room because she couldn't go home. She was angry and upset, she told me everything. Too tell you the truth I think you are a jerk;' I tell him, sternly

'What?' He asks

'I think you need to go and tell Lorelai how you really feel. She felt so stupid for giving you that ultimatum last night, but she also felt like she had no choice. I told you I wanted to speak in private now shall we or shall I keep going?' I ask sarcastically. 'Fine here is good too, Lorelai feels like she is in this relationship alone. She has felt alone for months now. Is that what you want for her? Do you want her to be alone?' I add 'She has felt heartbroken since she found out about Arpil, because she thought you wanted to get married but now she thinks you don't.' I keep going, before Luke cuts me off

'Of course I want to marry her. But she told me she understood everything with April' He tells me

'No, she understood everything with April before everyone in town but her got to be around April. Lorelai barely got to see April, but people like Lane and Ceaser, April and even me got to be around her more. She felt that she was going to be seen as a villain because she didn't get to know her soon to be step daughter. She felt frustrated because you told her she wasn't supposed to talk to Anna. What does that even mean?' I question, it's a good thing the diner is practically empty

'I don't know' He says quietly

'I have noticed now, that for a good 5 months Lorelai hasn't been herself. She has spent more time at the Inn than at home. Did you know that? When she is not at home or the Inn, she is spending whatever little time you have for her with you.' I say 'She is hurting Luke. Go be with her, she is going out of her mind' I add

'Ceaser your closing up' Luke says, as he runs out of the diner.

I smile to myself as I watch him run in the direction of Lorelai's house

...

**Lorelai's POV**

Sitting in the house alone, I guess this is it from now on. I feed Paul Anka some kibble before I decide to watch TV.

I settle on watching Full House, because I don't feel like watching anything else right now.

I sink into the couch and begin to cry to myself. How did everything get like this?

I don't hear the front door open

'Lorelai?' Luke says softly, as he brushes the tears off my cheeks

'Luke?' I ask, not wanting to look at him

'We need to talk' He tells me softly, as he lifts me up and sits me on his lap 'You know I love you right? I don't want us to be apart ever, I want us to be together and I promise one day we will get married.' He says softly, as I lay my head on his chest

'I feel so stupid about last night, I don't know what got into me.' I say quietly 'I am also sorry for everything I said this morning. I didn't mean it' I add, crying silently into his shirt

'Why didn't you tell me sooner, about how you were feeling?' He asks me softly, stroking my head

'I don't know, I just wanted you to be able to have a relationship with April' I say, quietly

'You should've told me, I would've been there for you more. I shouldn't have made you feel so alone.' He tels me, kissing my head.

'Why did you come here?' I ask him

'Huh?' He replies

'Why are you here now? Oh, Babette' I say quietly

'She called me a jerk, and told me that I should come and talk to you. She told me that you slept at her house last night and that you talked to her about everything' He says, I can sense the guilty tone in his voice

'Will we get through this?' I ask quietly, beginning to cry again

'Of course. I will be here with you for the rest of my life, I am never going to let you walk away' He tells me

I just hope he stands by his words.


	3. Parents

**Quick question, shall I keep this as a short story and do sequels? or shall I keep the entire story combined with this one?**

**Reviews are welcome :)**

**Edit: So I have been gone a while, I'm currently writing a new chapter for my other story The New Beginning. I found this chapter fully written and thought I would update the story for you guys. Hopefully it won't be long before another update comes your way :)**

**...**

**Chapter 3 - Starting Over**

I woke up the following morning still on the couch, snuggled up to must have fallen asleep during our chat last night. I slowly get up, and make my way into the kitchen for coffee. I notice the clock, its 5:45am.

I make my coffee and a tea for Luke, before I head back into the living room to wake Luke up

'Luke' I say gently

'Hmmm' He grumbles

'You need to get up, its nearly 6' I say 'I made you tea' I add, as he slowly gets up and takes the cup from me

'Your up early' He says

'Well I woke up a quarter to 6, and decided there was no point going back to sleep' I tell him

'You okay, after last night' He asks, gently. I had cried my eyes out, during our chat.

'Yeah' I say slowly 'I still feel stupid for all the things I said, but I'm thankful that we are still together. Which reminds me I owe Babette big time' I add

'Well I am thankful too, and I guess I owe Babette too' He says, as he leans over and kisses my head.

...

By 6:30 we were both in the diner. Luckily for Luke, Ceaser had to open because he closed last night.

'More coffee?' Luke asks, obviously rhetorical because I am always up for more coffee. I nod my head and smile as he places a plate of pancakes in front of me.

'Thank you' I say, gratefully and begin to eat.

'Hey sugah' Babette says, as she approaches me

'Hi Babette.' I say 'Thank you for everything, your an angel' I tell her

'Your welcome Sugah. I'm glad everything has been worked out between the two of you now' She says, her normal tone of voice has returned. Thank the Lord, soft and soppy Babette is kinda scary.

'Well I don't think we would've got this far, if you hadn't intervened. We both owe you' I say, as I stand up and give her a hug

'Well I'm sure Luke would be up for giving me some free coffee, or something' She says

'Hmmm, I'll see what I can do' I tell her

...

I had managed Luke to give Babette a free day, meaning for the entire day she didn't have to pay at the diner. On the condition, she didn't tell anyone because Luke would end up getting mad.

After breakfast, I ended up at the Inn to sort out the insurance policies because my dad was going to be reviewing them for me and I need to make sure everything is correct. I had only planned on being at the Inn for a few hours on the morning, however I had to stay for the entire day because my dad showed up to do the insurance check, a whole day early.

'I didn't know I was expecting you today Dad' I say, as I greet him at reception

'Well I was in the area and decided to drop by and do all the insurance checks now. Shall I reschedule? Is it a bad time?' He questions

'No today is fine Dad, your here now anyway. I was actually only supposed to be here for the morning, but I can stay' I reply, slightly irritated with him being here an entire day early.

...

I arrived at the Inn at 9 o'clock and my father arrived at 10, it's now 4pm and he still hasn't left.

'Dad, since when did and insurance check take 6 hours?' I question sarcastically, as my dad has his people check the banister for the billionth time since they arrived

'Well Lorelai, I need to ensure that everything is in shape so nothing falls apart' He replies

'Dad you've checked the banister over 10 times since you came, and here we are for the 11th time checking it again. Is there any chance we can wrap this up, I have to be somewhere tonight' I ask

My dad just nods his head and leaves, he has been acting strange lately. I just brush off his strange behaviour and head home for the night.

...

As I arrive back home, I see my parents Jaguar parked up behind Luke's truck. This means one thing. My parents are at my house. Great.

I reluctantly step out of my car and walk into the house.

'Hey I'm home' I say, as I put my bag down next to the phone

'Hello Lorelai' My Mother greets me, as she walks into the living room with dad and Luke in tow

'Mom, dad what are you guys doing here? More specifically dad because I left the Inn before you, did you speed or something?' I question, beginning to ramble

'Well I met your Mother here, and I'm sure I drove off before you Lorelai' My dad replies

'That doesn't answer the question of what you are doing here' I say

'Are we not allowed to visit our daughter and her fiancé?' Mom questions, I roll my eyes

'I would've just liked a warning. Luke and I could've made plans tonight' I reply

'Well you didn't and we are here' Mom says, sarcastically

...

By 8:30. Mom and Dad were making no plans to leave any time soon.

'I'm getting tired' I say yawning, as I stand and refill my coffee cup

'But it's 8:30' Dad tells me

'Well I haven't slept very well these past few days, and walking around the Inn thousands of times today has really knocked me out' I tell him

'Is there a real reason why the two of you are actually here?' I ask again, wanting a real answer this time

'Well there is but you don't need to know' Mom says

'What?' I question

'We are here just to check a few things out' Mom replies

'What things?' I ask

'Just some things that had become a rumour I am guessing' Mom replies, sarcastically

'What?' I ask, giving Luke a concerned look. What if they are planning on moving to Stars Hollow? Or even trying to get me to sell the house?

'Fine. Carolyn told Christopher about your chat in her car the other night. Christopher then, in turn, told us about it. So we came here to make sure everything was okay.' Mom replies

'Carolyn told Christopher? She's a therapist isn't that stuff supposed to be confidential?' I question, getting slightly angry 'Why didn't you just call or something, instead of just turning up out of the blue?' I add

'We were worried about you Lorelai' Mom answered, I sigh

'I know, it's been a rough few days, but i'm okay. Carolyn should have never told anyone about this, it's a breach of the confidentiality thing. I just wished you guys would have called or something. I mean it's really odd that dad was hanging around the Inn all day today. I thought he would never leave' I say, yawning again

'Well we will go now, see you Friday for dinner Lorelai' Dad says, as he leaves with my mom

...

20 minutes later, Luke and I are cuddled on the sofa quietly just enjoying being in each others company.

'You okay? Your quiet?' Luke says, softly, as he is stroking my hair

'hmm, yeah just wiped after today' I say quietly, feeling my eyes close

'I almost forgot how much effort it was to be around your parents' Luke tells me, I laugh a little

'hmm' I mumble slightly, still allowing my eyes to close

'I love you Lorelai' Luke says, kissing the top of my head

'Love you too Luke' I reply, allowing my self to fall asleep

...


End file.
